Tools and Equipment

Find the right tool for any jewelry making project. Rio Grande offers the best
selection of jewelry bench tools and equipment available, backed by our
world-class technical support. Reach for Rio Grande whether you need beading tools,
a new jewelry work bench, or any other jewelry tools and supplies.
We even offer jewelry making equipment for casting and other advanced techniques.
We carry trusted jewelry bench tool brands like Swanstrom,
Beadalon, Foredom Flex Shaft, Bonny Doon, Fretz Hammers and more.
Find the best-quality jewelry making tools and supplies at the best prices.

Metal Clay, Glass, Enamels and Resins

Versatile and inspiring silver precious metal clay has been available from Rio Grande
for more than a decade‹and today the passion for metal clay continues to evolve with
colorful BRONZclay and COPPRclay. Make Rio your first source for innovative metal clay tools,
products, and ideas‹such as fire-in-place Embeddables findings‹and any other metal clay supplies
you need.

At Rio Grande, you¹ll find the media you need to create unique,
colorful pieces and expand your jewelry-making repertoire. Stock up on
supplies for enameling, the art that welcomes the newcomer, yet challenges
the expert. Add a splash of color with Colores, the fashionable epoxy resin
that brightens up your work.

The term "conflict diamonds" refers to the diamond rough used to fund violent criminal insurgencies in several African countries.
The Kimberley Accord is a compact that regulates the sale and transfer of diamond rough to prevent the human destruction that conflict
diamonds cause. Rio Grande has long asked our suppliers to provide documentation proving the safe origin of the diamonds we buy.
You can be assured every diamond you buy from Rio Grande is certified “conflict-free” by both our strict standards and the Kimberley Accord.

Our Rio Certified Gemologists are ready to help you match stones or select a specific quality. Please let them know how they can help you.

Made with a touch of germanium, Argentium® Silver presents a bright white color that is closer to fine silver than traditional sterling, yet is highly resistant to firescale and extremely slow to tarnish under most conditions. With 93.5% pure silver, Argentium meets the legal standard to be quality-marked as sterling silver. All Argentium is made from reclaimed silver and its sources are guaranteed by Argentium International Ltd. The unique properties of Argentium make this metal a dream to work with. It welds flawlessly and is ideal for fusing techniques. It offers excellent formability in its soft state and will work harden beautifully to create jewelry pieces that are stronger. It can also be age-hardened to make it more durable, able to take a brighter, more long lasting shine. Jewelry-makers and their customers appreciate the value and convenience of a brighter-white sterling silver that resists tarnish, everyday scratches and dents, and keeps on shining.This wire is packaged in coils and can be cut to any length that satisfies the system minimum.Orders must weigh at least 0.01 ozt.; if you click 'Add to Cart' for a quantity less than this, the cart will offer a prompt to let you know what the minimum for this item is.Working with Argentium® is a bit different than working with traditional sterling. If you are new to using Argentium, visit the "Videos, Projects, Classes & More" tab on this page; you'll find lots of help and guidance to help you reap all the benefits this material has to offer!

Catalog page:

2016 Gems and Findings & Display and Packaging Catalog p. 21

please note: We strive to measure quantities ordered as closely as possible; however, due to manufacturing tolerances at the mill, please allow for a ±10% variance when ordering.

How To

How To Understand Metal Hardness

Here's how to understand the difference between hard and soft wire hardness. Knowing how to choose the hardness best suited to your jewelry technique and design goes a long way toward achieving the professional result you want.

DEAD SOFT:Metal that is dead soft is in a relaxed state at the molecular level, so it is easy to bend, shape and hammer. The act of bending and shaping will gradually work-harden the metal--right up to the breaking point. Dead soft metal will not hold its shape if put under stress in structures such as hinges or clasps.

1/2-HARD:Metal that is half-hard has been worked a bit, tightening the grain at the molecular level. This metal is harder to bend and hammer, but it is still possible in some cases to shape the metal--it just takes more force. While still malleable, it will also hold its shape under a certain amount of stress; it is ideal for wire wrapped structures that will support other components. If you are fabricating an item that needs both strength and a thinner gauge, you would probably choose half-hard.

FULL-HARD:Metal that is tempered (or significantly work-hardened) will be difficult to bend but will hold whatever bend you put into it pretty stubbornly. This hardness is ideal for clasps or hinges.

SPRING-HARD:Metal thoroughly hardened will lose pretty much all of its malleability and will actually spring back into its original shape when bent by hand. This hardness is ideal for ear wires, jump rings and head pins.

The main thing to remember, too, is that metal hardness is changeable. If you start with dead soft and work it or stress it, you will harden it. If you start with hard metal and heat it (either by soldering on it or by deliberately annealing it) you will soften the metal--all the way back to dead soft, if that's what you want.

Charts

Brown & Sharpe Gauge Thicknesses

Use this handy guide to quickly, easily and accurately convert gauge sizes into inches or millimeters—or vice versa.

Gauge

Inches

Millimeters

0

.325

8.26

2

.257

6.54

4

.204

5.19

6

.162

4.12

8

.128

3.26

10

.102

2.59

12

.081

2.05

13

.072

1.83

14

.064

1.63

15

.057

1.45

16

.051

1.29

18

.040

1.02

19

.036

.912

20

.032

.812

21

.028

.723

22

.025

.644

23

.023

.573

24

.020

.511

25

.018

.455

26

.016

.405

27

.014

.360

28

.013

.321

29

.011

.286

30

.010

.255

32

.0080

.2019

34

.0063

.1600

Size Chart For Round Wire

Recommended Metal Thickness

We recommend using sterling silver materials that are approximately 20%–25% thicker than the same materials in 14K gold to achieve comparable strength characteristics.

For

Use

Rings and wedding bands

16-gauge (for women’s rings)14-gauge (for men’s rings)

Bezel material

32-, 30-, 28-gauge

Ear wires

22-, 20-gauge

Bracelets

18-, 16-, 14-gauge

Repoussé

24-, 22-gauge

Jump rings

22-, 20-, 18-gauge

Common Conversions

Weight (Mass) Comparison

Carat to Metric

1 grain

=

0.0648 grams

1 carat

=

200 milligrams

1 point

=

2 milligrams

Troy to Metric

1 grain

=

0.0648 grains

1 dwt

=

1.5552 grams

1 troy ounce

=

31.1035 grams

1 troy pound

=

373.24 grams

Metric

1 kilogram

=

643.004 dwt

35.274 Avoirdupois ounces

2.2 Avoirdupois pounds

32.151 troy ounces

2.679 troy pounds

Avoirdupois to Metric

1 grain

=

0.0648 grams

1 ounce Avoirdupois

=

28.3495 grams

1 pound Avoirdupois

=

453.59 grams

1 pound Avoirdupois

=

0.4536 kilograms

1 short ton Avoirdupois

=

907.18 kilograms

1 short ton Avoirdupois

=

0.90718 metric tons

Grains

1 grain

=

0.04167 dwt

0.324 carats

0.0021 troy ounces

Carats

1 carat

=

0.007 ounces Avoirdupois

3.0865 grains

0.1286 dwt

Pennyweight (dwt)

1 dwt

=

0.05486 ounces Avoirdupois

0.00343 pounds Avoirdupois

7.776 carats

0.05 troy ounces

Avoirdupois to Troy

1 ounce Avoirdupois

=

0.91145 troy ounces

1 pound Avoirdupois

=

14.5833 troy ounces

Troy

1 troy ounce

=

20 dwt

1.097 ounces Avoirdupois

0.06857 pounds Avoirdupois

Linear Measure Comparison

Metric to English

1 millimeter

=

0.03937 inches

1 centimeter

=

0.3937 inches

1 meter

=

39.37 inches

1 meter

=

3.2808 feet

1 kilometer

=

0.621 miles

English to Metric

1 mil

=

0.0254 millimeters

1 inch

=

25.4 millimeters

2.54 centimeters

0.0254 meters

1 foot

=

0.3048 meters

1 mile

=

1.6093 kilometers

Surface Area Comparison

Metric to English

1 sq. centimeter

=

0.155 sq. inches

1 sq. meter

=

1.196 sq. yards

1 sq. kilometer

=

0.386 sq. miles

English to Metric

1 sq. inch

=

6.452 sq. centimeters

1 sq. foot

=

929.03 sq. centimeters

1 sq. yard

=

0.8361 sq. meters

Capacity (Measure) Comparison

Metric to English

1 milliliter

=

0.338 fluid ounces

1 milliliter

=

1cc

1 liter

=

1.057 fluid quarts

1 liter

=

0.9081 dry quarts

1 kiloliter

=

264.17 gallons

English to Metric (liquid)

1 fluid ounce

=

0.0296 liters

1 cup

=

0.2366 liters

1 pint

=

0.4732 liters (US)

0.5683 liters (UK)

1 fluid quart

=

0.9464 liters

1 gallon

=

3.7854 liters

English to Metric (dry)

1 pint

=

0.5506 liters

1 dry quart

=

1.1012 liters

1 peck

=

8.8098 liters

Volume Comparison

Metric to English

1 cubic centimeter

=

0.06102 cubic inches

0.03381 fluid ounces (US)

0.03519 fluid ounces (UK)

1 cubic meter

=

35.315 cubic feet

English to Metric (liquid)

1 cubic inch

=

16.387 cubic centimeters

1 cubic foot

=

0.0283 cubic meters

1 cubic yard

=

0.7646 cubic meters

1 fluid ounce

=

29.5735 cubic centimeters (US)

28.4131 cubic centimeters (UK)

Fluid Ounces/Cubic Inches

1 cubic inch

=

0.554 fluid ounces

1 fluid ounce

=

1.80469 cubic inches

Comparing Silver Hardnesses

Vickers Hardness (dph)

Common Term

Fine

Sterling

Argentium

Soft (annealed)

54

66-76

50-70

1/4-hard

62-71

78-88

90-105

1/2-hard

77-89

90-100

106-120

3/4-hard

84-94

102-114

121-135

Hard

89-103

116-130

136-148

Spring

103-108

132-148

150-160

Age-hardened

—

100-120

100-120

Wire Wrapper's Guide to Wire Hardness

This chart is a relative measure for the workability of different alloys for wire-wrapping.

MSDS

Soldering 201: Soldering and Working With Argentium Silver
Follow along with industry favorite and Argentium® Silver expert Ronda Coryell as she shares a variety of tips for working with Argentium Silver.<br/>